Welcome to part 2 of the French Deadly Sins series (see Part 1 here). Today, we shall focus on a DS that spanned the ’50s and ’60s, the Panhard Dyna Z (1954-59) and its related successor, the PL 17 (1960-65). True to the spirit of the Deadly Sins, these cars may have sold well, but they led their maker to oblivion…

Panhard Gets Eaten Alive: The Dyna Z / PL 17

The Panhard company was France’s oldest automaker, having built its first petrol-engined car in 1890. Over the years, it had diversified its production to include trucks, coaches, railbuses and a very successful line of military vehicles.

Panhard cars evolved toward the higher end of the market by the mid-‘20s, offering a range of mid to larger 6-cyl. and 8-cyl. cars with Knight sleeve-valve engines and very distinctive styling courtesy of Louis Bionier. The last pre-war Panhard, the Dynamic, sold poorly but introduced unibody construction to the French luxury car market, among many interesting technical features. Even before the end of the war, the family-owned firm wisely decided its future lay in small cars.

The second Aluminium Français-Grégoire (AFG) prototype built in 1945 by Simca, who really preferred making Fiats.

In 1945, the French government was pushing for Simca to manufacture a completely new car devised by Jean Albert Grégoire (him again, see Part 1) during the war. It was a tiny alloy-bodied FWD design, powered by a flat-twin engine. J.A. Grégoire was in cahoots with the Aluminium Français (the French aluminum producers lobby), who wielded considerable influence over politicians in Paris, who in turn forced J.A. Grégoire and his car on Simca. J.A. Grégoire was a Simca executive for a brief time, but Simca viewed him and his car with suspicion, dragging their feet, toying with the car to give it more contemporary styling and finally selling the aborted project to Kendall in the UK and Hartnett in Australia (neither were successful).

The 1947 Panhard Dyna X still had a lot of AFG DNA (IMHO).

Panhard had seen the first AFG prototype even before 1945 and secured licensing rights from J.A. Grégoire before he went to Simca. It was a great solution to the company’s conundrum, though it desperately needed improvement. Now that Simca had thrown it away, Panhard could modify the car at will: only one version of the AFG would be produced and J.A. Grégoire had backed the wrong horse. Panhard’s chief engineer, Louis Delagarde, gave it a new engine with innovative features such as torsion bar valve springs and hemi heads cast together with the finned aluminum cylinder barrels (no gasket). The AFG’s body was extensively reworked to include rear doors and gradually “embellished” by Louis Bionier with polished aluminum trinkets. The Dyna had a steel chassis instead of the AFG’s alloy platform, but the aluminum body panels would remain, as they allowed Panhard to fast-track the Dyna’s production: steel was rationed, aluminum was not.

By 1951, Bionier had put so much Baroque bling on the little Dyna that the French press were calling it “Louis XV.”

Panhard never publicly acknowledged Grégoire’s paternity of the car, leading The Engineer to sue Panhard for intellectual property theft (he lost). The car was relatively expensive (50% more than the Renault 4CV), but was brilliant and sold pretty well. The engine grew from 610cc (28hp) to 745cc (33hp) and eventually 851cc (40hp), propelling the little car to over 120 kph (75 mph).

Louis Bionier, who designed all Panhards from 1929 on, made the cutting-edge Dynavia in 1948.

The main problems with the Dyna X were its tiny size, antiquated styling and dreadful aerodynamics. The Dynavia demonstrated that a properly streamlined saloon could dramatically improve fuel consumption and speed: it could reach 130 kph with the 610cc flat-twin and could deliver 5 litres / 100 km (47 mpg). Using Bionier’s design as a starting point, Panhard invested massively in a completely new all-aluminum body. Around that time (the early ’50s), the company also started to quietly put out feelers to join forces with another automaker – Ford SAF and Peugeot were approached, but nothing came of the secret meetings…

By late 1953, the new Dyna Z was launched. The lightweight (710 kg / 1560 lbs.) streamlined car was perfectly suited to the small engine, keeping it in the 5CV tax band while providing enough to accommodate six (thin) passengers, like an 11CV Citroën or Renault.

The price was a bit steep: FF 699,000 for the base model, FF 760,000 for the 42hp Deluxe. Though the cars sold well in 1954-55, Panhard were selling a 2-cyl. car for the price of a Traction Avant! Alas, it quickly turned out that the price was not steep enough to turn a profit.

Panhard had miscalculated the cost of the new body by a wide margin. Like the Dyna X, the Dyna Z used duralinox, a strong aircraft-grade aluminum / magnesium alloy throughout the car, including the platform. But both metals’ prices were on the rise as the war surplus DC-3s were gradually being replaced with newer designs in Europe and elsewhere. Similarly, piston-engined military aircraft were being retired en masse in favour of new jets. The Dyna Z would soon sink the company unless many more could be sold and manufacturing costs could be brought down. Panic-stricken, Panhard knocked on Citroën’s door: the Dyna might be a good fit in the Citroën range, which had a massive gap between the 2CV and the Traction Avant.

A deal was struck in 1955: Citroën bought 25% of Panhard’s stock and add the Dyna to its line-up, both in France and abroad. In the meantime, Panhard resorted to gradually switch from aluminum to steel bodies. The increased weight was matched by increasing the engine’s power through various means, some of them to the detriment of durability. Panhard’s flat-twin was still brilliant, but it was becoming fragile. Citroën quickly killed off the Panhard truck range and used the factory space to manufacture 2CV vans, but deliberately paid its subcontractor below cost.

Panhard launched a two-door convertible in 1957, followed by a light truck (1959) and a four-door wagon (1963).

By 1957, the Dyna Z had completely switched to steel, tipping the scales at 875 kg – about 23% heavier than a 1955 model. The 851cc flat-twin was available in base 38hp guise – positively asthmatic – or the 50hp “Tigre” version, which debuted in 1959 and finally matched the heavier body. The range also included new variants to broaden the Dyna’s appeal, but the car was now five years old and sales were flagging.

Citroën furthered its dominance on the Panhard Board by increasing its ownership to 45% of Panhard stock. It wielded veto power over all decisions that ageing CEO Paul Panhard (at the helm of the company since 1916) and his son Jean proposed to continue the marque’s car line.

A new saloon was out of the question, so the Dyna Z was tarted up by Bionier and became the PL 17 for model year 1960. Despite the car’s weird looks, complete with faux tiger skin interior, sales were boosted, but Citroën were carefully and methodically taking over their smaller partner’s operations, especially the highly profitable military vehicles arm.

The 1960 PL 17: Bionier went nuts with the polished aluminum to hide the car’s age. Note hp figures are SAE gross in this American ad.

Citroën vetoed a civilian version of Panhard’s X4 engine (essentially a twinned flat-twin), as well as any hope of a new four-door saloon: Citroën were working on their own mid-range saloon, which would ultimately come out several years late as the 1970 Citroën GS. But a two-door coupé with the flat-twin was green-lit in 1961 and introduced in the spring of 1963 as the Panhard 24, just as Citroën gobbled up another 30% of Panhard stocks.

Panhard’s 1964 range: the old saloon was now just the “17.”

The four-door cars, now competing with the Citroën Ami 6, were left to rot with their ‘50s bodies (albeit with one final facelift in ’63). The last Panhard 17 saloons were sold in May 1965, just as Citroën completed the absorption of its rival. The 24 coupé carried on for two model years with a Citroën manufacturer’s plate. No more Panhard cars would ever be made.

Panhard sinned by excessive ambition and naivety when introducing the Dyna Z. Though they did manage to build over 230,000 Dyna Z / PL 17 cars in 11 years thanks to Citroën’s dealer network, the bean-counters had not done their homework. Manufacturing costs had been insufficiently worked out and based on quicksand (i.e. the price of a relatively rare commodity), precipitating Panhard into the arms of a rival whose only goal was to gradually tighten its coils around Panhard and slowly swallow it, like a python does a deer. It is worth noting, though, that Panhard is still alive as a military vehicle manufacturer, now owned by the Volvo Group.

Tune in tomorrow for the third and final installment of the French Deadly Sins series: the Citroën GS Birotor!

The reason for the looks of the B-pillar is because all four doors was hanged from that post. The front doors opened forwards, suicide style. The rear doors opened rearwards, as most doors do. I guess they had to make some sort of intendation so that the outer skin of both doors wouldn’t touch when they were both open at the same time.

I have seen Dyna Z/PL17 on the road because there was a French Garrison stationed in our town. (That garrison’s store was also a reliable and cheap supply of Goloises cigarettes to my brother). They always struck me as futuristic and I thought they’d be fast cars until I learned that they had small 2 cylinder boxers under the hood. Still, these bodies look futuristic even today. I also thought they used the Citroen 2CV engines, obviously I was wrong with that.

Very interesting. Certainly one of the most distinctive European cars of the ’50s — even having never seen one in the flesh, I couldn’t mistake the Dyna Z for anything else.

Panhards were sold in the US (now I know the marriage with Citroen likely brought that on), but I imagine sales were infinitesimal. Still, I did come across this 1958 ad from New York’s Citroen dealer:

I should have thought of this yesterday, with the Hotchkiss article but I should say something about the prevalence of aluminum in both yesterday’s article and today’s.

France was an early powerhouse of industrial aluminum production. Before 1886 aluminum was considered a precious metal, but American Charles Hall and Frenchman Paul Héroult independently discovered the cost effective process to reduce pure aluminum known today as the Hall-Héroult process.

So the technology and production of aluminum were a matter of French pride, which is likely one of the reasons it frequently found its way into cutting edge French cars like the Hotchkiss and Dyna.

When I started working in Aluminum Smelter equipment 20 years ago many of our competitors were French companies. Not so much these days, there were a rash of closures and mergers since the 2009 recession.

Thank you for elaborating on the historical use of aluminum. When I read this, my first thought was the sheer amount of shock at Ford using aluminum in their F-150 and now the heavier F-250, 350, etc. It wasn’t like it was anything new; maybe it’s a case of “it’s not been done here, so it’s never been done period.”

Scouring my brain, I know there were a few Panhard’s at the Lane this past summer at the CC Meet-up and this Dyna looks awfully familiar. As the engineering aspect of a car appeals to me quicker than does the shape, these are quite interesting cars.

“maybe it’s a case of “it’s not been done here, so it’s never been done period.””

Or just short memories, because the Marmon Sixteen used lots of aluminum, both in its engine and in its bodies. It was not, however, in any way a mass-market vehicle, so in that sense, you are likely correct.

I took up a weird fascination with Panhard cars on my visit to the Lane Museum last summer. Thanks for this great re-telling of their story. Panhard under Citroen has some similarities to Studebaker-Packard under the management of Curtiss Wright in 1957-58, except that Citroen swallowed Panhard while C-W spit Studebaker Packard back out after it had sucked out most of the revenue-producing military business.

Between the shape of the body, the unit construction and the thickness of that B pillar, the car gives the impression of one of the most rigid structures ever made.

What a sad end to a great old French company. It is too bad the way that some countries postwar tax policies discouraged any reasonable sort of powerplant development in a car of this size. With a larger 4 cylinder engine, this could have developed a following in export markets.

At some point in 1967 (I forget which issue), Automobile Quarterly had a Panhard history titled “Panhard: Limelight to Twilight.” This was written when the end was in sight for Panhard passenger cars. Well worth seeking out.

These Panhards PL17 were assembled in Uruguay with fiberglass bodies that were pretty similar to the aluminum or steel ones. Apparently they were quite fast and are remembered fondly there.
Looking forward to Part Three (which I am more familiar with)

Dad had a Z12 Tigre in light purple lila with tiger print upholstery in the late fifties – early sixties. Mom hated the darn thing, my kid brither was nearly born in it when dad rushed mom to the hospital. Later dad drove Mercedes, Peugeot, Rover, you name it.
Dad’s benchmark throughout his life was the Z12.
Simply coz nothing drove better, was more nervous, with the revving growlin never happy flat twin, it felt so much like an ‘automobile’ , the genious and avant garde idea of clustering all switches handles and leavers around the steering column in reach for the driver and the superb handling of the low positioned FWD flat twin.
And dad was right, years later I bought a BT24 simply a great little car, that needs your attention all the time when driving , nervous like a stallion, a delicate gearbox, but when it all works, man what a great drivers car, I mean an 850cc flat-twin that is capable of 100mph.

Ow, for the third nose of the Ds series, Citroën stole the inserted doorhandles, and the headlights behind one glass (for non US Spec models) from the 24 Bt series from Panhard.
Actually the whole shape of the third Ds series were ‘inspired’ on the Bt 24.

When I was living in Los Angeles (1977-81), I had some contact with the Citroen Club, even though I’ve never owned a CItroen. One of the their members told me that a few years prior, there had been a Panhard that was often seen parked on Laurel Canyon Blvd. and was known as the Laurel Canyon Panhard. One night it was swept away and smashed up in a flash flood. 🙁 It’s not like the cars were thick on the ground in the States.

The 24 had downward-pointing lights set into the bottoms of the doors to keep you from opening the door and stepping into a puddle. When I heard of this, I thought, “So cool and so obvious–what took so long to think of it, and why doesn’t every car have this?”

This is sounding a bit like the story of the English Ford accountants and the Mini. Ford UK was losing small car sales in the early 70s to the Mini because it was cheaper than competing Fords. The punchline is Ford purchased and disassembled a Mini, worked out the component costs and found out BL was losing a chunk of money on every car they sold.

Apparently Daimler / BSA under the Dockers at one point wanted to assemble the Panhard Dyna Z in the UK possibly under the Lanchester badge, only for the UK government to put a stop to it by preventing the import of ready made body panels.

Which led to them designing a completely new Lanchester that incorporated the best features of the Panhard Dyna Z, eventually evolving into the ill-fated Lanchester Sprite with both the project and the marque being dropped soon after the ouster of the Dockers.

40-some years ago,an eccentric friend had bought up 1/2 dozen dyna panhards in Coquitlam,BC,which might well have been the entire western world’s alotment. He only ever registered one of course, and moved the plates from one to another as needed…Fortunately,my nerves were pre-primed, thanks to yet another gent who had driven me through downtown Montreal rush hour traffic in a 2CV trucklet on 2 wheels [I can’t believe I’m still alive and nobody else died either….]Aftter that, riding shotgun in one of Tiny’s Panhards was a walk in the park.

This wasn’t a technical DS. Panhard Dyna Z really was the future of the car. Unlike to GM, Panhard also was ahead of this time but they had got few money for their ambitions. The ingenuity of using the aluminum was from the need of using the Dyna X’s engine. Futhermore, GM usually suffered with its Bean-counters. On other hand, Panhard didn’t look at spending.

A Panhard PL17 raised a bit of a kerfuffle by winning the Monte Carlo Rally in 1961, not on its own merits, but based on a labyrinthian system of power-to-weight balancing. Needless to say, the rally committee changed its formula a bit for 1962.

By any chance did you see it at the Italian car show in April in Issaquah, Washington? I’ve seen it there twice. The owner told me it had belonged to his grandfather, who’d had several Panhards.

Ca. 1991 I spoke to the owner of a Panhard, which I remember being a different color from this one, in Seattle. Washington license plate 055-DDY. No idea if it’s still around, or wearing the same plate.

I am the owner of this Panhard which was given to me by my father in 1989 not running (It had been in storage for 17 years). I got it running in 1989 and it is still a work in progress. My son Paul is the main driver of the car now. He uses it to lead several vintage car drives each year. There is another one located in Bothell, Wa.–similar color but driven very rarely. The 055-DDY was my old plate.